Sorbara to return to cabinet: McGuinty Timing of shuffle not yet known as appeal possible Source: Toronto Star
In his first public comments since Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer's ruling Thursday, McGuinty said Sorbara would soon be returning to the executive council. "I'm going to take a few days to consider where we're going to go from here, but it's no secret I would be pleased to be able to return Greg to cabinet," the premier said after a Toronto Star editorial board meeting yesterday. Sorbara was forced to resign as finance minister on Oct. 11, 2005, after he was named in a search warrant obtained by the RCMP as part of their ongoing criminal investigation of Royal Group Technologies. He was a former Royal Group director and a part owner of Sam-Sor Enterprises Inc., which sold two Brampton properties to Royal for $2.5 million in 1996 and 1997 when he was out of politics. According to an affidavit sworn by RCMP Staff Sgt. Mel Young to obtain the warrants, Sorbara failed to inform Royal of his interest in the deals. But the Vaughan-King-Aurora MPP went to court to have his name removed from the warrants and Nordheimer ruled in his favour with a 24-page decision that blasted the Mounties. The judge castigated the RCMP for a probe plagued with "flaws" and suggested the force misled Ontario Court Justice Lauren Marshall by providing "insufficient evidence" to secure the warrant. "I am left with the nagging concern that the application for a search warrant, at least as it related to (Sorbara), was very much premature," the judge admonished. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Acting Sgt. Michele Paradis of the RCMP said that from the Mounties' point of view "nothing has really changed." "We have said all along that we're looking into the activities of Royal Group and some of the principals, and anything further we can't speak to because this is an ongoing investigation." While a cabinet shuffle is expected as early as next week, McGuinty
suggested changes might have to wait until the Crown, which has 30 days
to appeal Nordheimer's ruling, announces its next move. "We'll get
some advice from the (attorney general's) ministry and see what our options
are," said the premier, acknowledging the difficulties inherent
in any shuffling of cabinet. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan succeeded Sorbara as finance minister and is considered to have performed well. McGuinty declined to say whether he would create a deputy premier's post as a consolation prize for either Sorbara or Duncan. Sorbara said he is just grateful to have been exonerated after a "six-figure" legal and public relations battle. "I'm pleased that the premier is taking the time to give it some thought," said the former Ontario Liberal Party president and architect of the 2003 electoral victory. "We should all simply just enjoy the first long weekend of the summer and get back to work next week," he said. Sorbara insisted he bears no malice toward the RCMP despite his name being dragged through the mud, saying, "no public organization is infallible." Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory pointed out that while Nordheimer concluded Sorbara was wrongly included in the warrant, the judge never said the Liberal MPP was not part of the RCMP's probe into Royal Group. "We all hope for the sake of our system and for the sake of Mr. Sorbara personally that he is not part of this anymore," said Tory, urging McGuinty to proceed cautiously before reinstating Sorbara. "Mr. McGuinty has the obligation to do due diligence in whatever way he can to satisfy himself that Mr. Sorbara won't get ... wound up in this again a few months from now," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We need more opportunities to better understand each other's position and one of the things I'm determined to do is to convince the PM that we can build a win-win," said McGuinty, referring to his ongoing crusade for more funding from Ottawa. "We can find a way to meet Ontario's concerns in a way that strengthens the country as a whole," he said, emphasizing that he's glad that Harper has former MPPs like Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Health Minister Tony Clement and Treasury Board President John Baird at his side. "One of the things that I do take some comfort in is that some
of the most important people around his cabinet table do understand Ontario,
do understand the nature of our financial challenges and hopefully will
bring that to bear in their cabinet discussions." |